The Reality of the Profession
by Magpul the Unholy
Summary: Monika finally gets to live in the real world with the one she loves. Unfortunately, she might not be entirely pleased with what he does for a living.
1. 1 - Arrival

" _-with no sign of capturing the suspects in the near future. What do you make of this, Bill?"_

 _"Now, you see, John, this is just another sign that the police force needs to see a drastic overhaul. This is the third time now that this gang has struck, and every time the cops are just too slow to capture them! What are we paying them for, then?"_

More than a few shoppers had stopped or slowed down to watch the news, before moving on to continue their own lives, often discussing what they saw with those around them. Others didn't even bother discussing it, simply choosing to either absorb the information or disregard it entirely. It had nothing to do with them, after all.

One man in particular had been watching on his way out of the building, only to shake his head as he walked out the door, bags of groceries in hand. He had been watching the news for most of his life, and yet they hadn't changed at all during that time.

His car was nothing special, a simple four door sedan. It wasn't fancy, but he kept it clean, and it kept running, and that's all he needed. Even then, it's not like he needed any of the extra seats. He lived alone, and didn't have any friends in the area who didn't have cars of their own.

While most of his social isolation was by choice, he still felt the occasional pang of loneliness. In fact, as of late, they've gotten worse and worse.

All because of that damn game he tried out on a whim.

And the girl from said game who broke it just to spend time with him.

It was just a free game he downloaded off Steam because of all the buzz he heard about it. Why did it have to hit him so deeply? Why couldn't he get any of it out of his head?

Why couldn't any of them be real?

The man shook off the thoughts just as he pulled into his driveway, the sun just starting to set. That line of thinking wouldn't change anything, and would only make him feel worse.

His house was a step up from his car, but it still wasn't excessive. It wasn't even that big, but for a single person it was more than enough. Also, it was isolated from almost anyone else, which was fine by him. The closest neighbor was at least a couple blocks away, and he never had to deal with them.

However, as he got out of the car with his groceries, he noticed something was wrong.

Namely, even though he always kept his curtains pulled over the windows, he could tell that one of the lights was on, and he knew for a fact that he turned all of them off before he left that day.

Considering that there wasn't anyone else who had a key to his house, he immediately assumed the worst. He quickly walked back to his car, dropping the groceries back down in the passenger seat while he popped open the glove box. It didn't take him long at all to find what he was looking for.

Making sure that his handgun was properly loaded and chambered, he dropped into a lowered stance and crept to the front door. It was still shut and locked, so whoever was in his house, they got in either from the back, or through a window.

Keeping his gun raised and ready, he quickly yet quietly unlocked the door, before repocketing his keys. Steeling himself, he quickly twisted the doorknob and shoved the door inside, taking aim at the same time.

There wasn't anyone in the immediate entryway of his house, but he could see that the kitchen was the source of light he saw through the window. Wasting no time, he walked inside, scanning every potential hiding place on his way there.

Unexpectedly, the kitchen was completely empty. If anyone had been looking through his cupboards and fridge, he couldn't tell at a glance.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from down the hall. He immediately whirled towards the source, simultaneously taking note of what the steps sounded like. They had shoes, but they didn't sound like common tennis shoes. Not only that, but whoever it was, they weren't being very light on their feet.

It was like they wanted to gain his attention.

He performed a quick check and repositioning to ensure that no one could get him from behind, and kept his gaze towards the hallway, slowly edging closer all the while. It sounded like they were just around the corner, now. His finger slowly drifted closer to the trigger.

Judging by the speed of the steps, they'd round the corner in three, two…

In an instant, he whirled around the corner, gun drawn and ready, but he held his fire in favor of barking out a quick order. "Hands up!"

He didn't expect a girlish scream in response, nor did he expect whoever it was to be a slight bit shorter than him; just enough that he had to bring his gun down a bit to make sure he could see their face.

It was a girl, just as the scream suggested. Her hands were in the air, as he ordered, so he quickly started going over her features in his head.

Long brown hair, with a large white bow tying parts of it together. Wearing a grey jacket with a brown vest peeking from underneath, and also a dark blue skirt. Just above the vest was a red bow, and just above that he could see her bright, emerald green eyes, which held a look of utter terror and confusion.

Something occurred to him that made his gun waver ever so slightly. She looked just like…

No. That was impossible.

"Who are you?" he barked out, taking a single step back to give her space but keeping his gun leveled at her chest.

He could see the start of tears growing at the corners of her eyes. "I- It's me, Nathan! It's Monika!"

He froze. She knew his name, but he was more focused on what she claimed her name was.

There was no way…

"H- How did you get here?" he demanded, his voice catching slightly. Part of him wanted to fully accept what she was saying, but the rest of him was far too cautious to do so just yet.

Tears were rolling down her face now, but she answered anyway. "I'm… not really sure, but I managed to get over to your world! I woke up in front of your computer!"

He so badly wanted to believe her, but he still couldn't bring himself to do so. Not without something only she would know.

"The first time I played the game," he started, his voice softening but his aim not moving, "before… before Sayori…" Just saying the name out loud felt odd to him, but he kept going. "Before that happened, who was I trying to romance?"

He had never told anyone about the game, since he didn't have any friends who would be into that sort of thing. So if this really was Monika, then she'd clearly know that he started by going for…

"You… went for Sayori," she said, her hands lowering slightly, albeit still above her head. "And then, the second time, you didn't seem to care if you impressed Yuri or Natsuki more."

Nathan felt his breathing quicken slightly, as his aim slowly shook more and more.

She was right.

She was telling the truth.

She was _real._

And she was here.

Slowly, Nathan lowered the gun, as his own vision started to blur slightly from tears. Monika's arms lowered, as well, and as soon as the weapon was aimed right at the floor, he felt his grip loosen completely, letting it clatter to the floor between them.

His hands now empty, Nathan lunged forward and grabbed Monika into a hug, causing her to let out a yelp before she returned the hug, the both of them quietly crying into each other's shoulders.

"I… I didn't think I'd ever see you," Nathan eventually choked out, his grip remaining tight.

"I didn't either," Monika admitted. "But now that I'm here…" She let out a small sob, smiling widely through the tears. "I love you, Nathan."

He didn't hesitate at all. "I love you too, Monika."

The two of them remained in their embrace for a while longer, before eventually Monika made the move to separate themselves slightly, enough to bring them face to face. "I'm… sorry about scaring you. Now that I think about it, I suppose it did look a bit suspect, ehehe…"

 _'I was so close to killing you'_

Nathan felt the thought enter his head, but quickly buried it. "Don't worry about it. We're together now, that's all that matters."

Suddenly, he snapped his head back towards the front door, still ajar from his entry. "Shit, almost forgot about the groceries."

Reluctantly, the two of them let each other go, and he made his way to the door, stopping briefly to backtrack and retrieve the fallen pistol.

As he left, Monika felt her gaze being drawn to the weapon that was threatening her life only moments ago. She was no stranger to guns as an idea, but she didn't know that Nathan owned one. Although, to be fair, she never asked.

A moment later, he returned, the gun now replaced with far more benign bags of groceries. "I take it you tried to find something to eat in the kitchen?" he asked.

Monika gave a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, but I couldn't really find anything…"

"Well, let's fix that." Nathan walked back into the kitchen, Monika following closely behind as he set the bags down on the counter, not even bothering to put them away yet. "Also, sorry in advance, but I don't really have that much vegetarian food here."

"Aww, you remembered!" Monika leaned over as she looked at the gathered food items. "And it's not that big a deal. I did kinda surprise you here, after all."

Nathan chuckled. "Well, the only things I got without meat in them is some macaroni and some packs of ramen," he listed off, taking the items out of the bag as he listed them off. "That sound good for tonight?"

Monika gave a small smirk. "Not much of a cook?"

"I mean, it's been working so far."

"I'm just teasing you, Nathan," she said, giggling, before she trailed off into a sigh. "Honestly… this still doesn't feel completely real to me, you know?"

"I understand. I keep having to remind myself I'm not dreaming, too."

"The more you talk, the more I remember why I fell in love with you," Monika said, hugging him from behind.

"Then I should probably shut up, before I ruin it."

"Hey!"

The two of them continued to laugh and joke at each other's expense through the rest of the cooking, as well as through all of their dinner.

It was still hard to believe, but they were together now. For real. Not separated by a screen at all, just two people in love who were truly meeting for the first time.

And if they had anything to say about it, they would never be separated again.

After the incredibly simple meal, the two of them curled up on the couch together, Nathan trying to find something to watch amidst the almost endless stream of garbage on TV. He kept an eye on Monika, trying to gauge her reactions to certain programs, but her expression only seem to change between distaste and outright disgust.

Eventually, he flipped over to a news channel, which made him pause just long enough to see what they were currently talking about.

" _-with many people around the country taking part in public protests. Despite this, the police are remaining firm on their stance, and refuse to levy any sort of punishment on the officer."_

 _"And why should they?"_ another person asked, clearly meant to be the opposite side of a debate. " _Even if they were in high school, even if they were under eighteen, they still had a weapon on them, and were very clearly acting as a threat. Not only that, but we have several eyewitness reports saying that the officer attempted to talk them down several times before shooting. If you ask me, he was following procedure perfectly."_

While the other people at the desk started to argue the point back and forth, Nathan felt Monika fidget slightly next to him. "Something on your mind?"

She sighed. "I can't help but feel a little sad whenever I see things that remind me how messed up the world can really be."

Nathan shrugged. "The world is a cruel place, and a lot of times good people have to do bad things." He put on a cheesy grin. "But with you here now, it's at least a little bit better."

"Oh, stop it, you!" Monika shoved him playfully, blushing slightly. "You know, being all romantic isn't going to work forever."

"You're probably right. But until then…" Nathan trailed off, instead opting to finish the statement with a small kiss on her cheek. When her only response was to stiffen while blushing harder, his smile widened. "Seems like it works fine right now."

"S- Shut up!" Monika said, starting to giggle before it turned into a full blown laugh. Nathan joined her, the two tightening their embrace as they fell into hysterics over the other's antics.

Once the laughter died down, Nathan let out a yawn. "Well, it's been a long day for me. I'm gonna turn in for the night."

"I'll probably be right behind you," Monika said, letting Nathan untangle himself from her.

"Feel free to use the bathroom and stuff if you need to," he said, stretching. "After all, this is your place now, too."

Monika felt her heart flutter uncontrollably at the statement, and she couldn't keep a dumb grin off her face. Nathan was affected in much the same way, even though he was the one who said it.

"I love you so much," Monika said, tilting her head while giving a wide smile.

"I probably love you more," Nathan shot back, starting to make his way towards his bedroom.

"I doubt it!"

"Try me!"

The two laughed again, before they fully broke sight of one another. Nathan didn't take long at all to get ready for bed, since it was a simple matter of taking off his jeans and shirt before throwing them into the floor next to the bed. They'd have to be picked up at some point, but that was a problem for tomorrow.

Collapsing onto the bed, Nathan quickly got into a comfortable position under the covers, although it was proving harder to drift to sleep than he thought.

At some point, he heard Monika walking around in the hall, before he heard a door shut, followed by the telltale sound of a shower starting up. As mundane as it was, the simple knowledge that there was now someone else living here with him- someone who he loved so much, no less- was enough to make him put on a wide smile.

At some point, he managed to nod off, but was soon awoken by the feeling of the bed shaking slightly, as a figure wormed its way under the covers before squeezing up to his front.

Even though the room was pitch black by this point, he didn't need to see at all to know who it was.

Although… it didn't feel like she was wearing her uniform anymore.

In fact, it didn't feel like she was wearing anything at all anymore.

He heard Monika softly giggle just as the realization hit. "I didn't really have any clothes other than my uniform, so-"

Nathan cut her off with a quick peck on the lips, causing her to let out an adorable squeak. "We'll go shopping for you tomorrow."

It took a bit for Monika to answer. "I… I would love that." She noticed that she was already starting to lose him, though, and she let out another small giggle. "Goodnight, Nathan."

"Night, Monika."

And so, the two of them drifted off into what would hopefully be the first of many blissful slumbers with one another.


	2. 2 - Settling In

Nathan felt himself starting to wake up, but he decided not to move until he was fully awake. The events of last night replayed themselves in his head, however, and he pulled his eyes open just to make sure that it wasn't all a dream.

He was greeted with the sleeping face of Monika. Smiling to himself, he simply lay there with her for a while, just to bask in the reality that she was with him now. He hadn't felt this happy in who knows how long.

Eventually, however, his body protested enough to force him out of bed. He did his best to slip out from the covers without waking his girlfriend, which proved to be relatively easy. It seemed like she was quite the heavy sleeper.

As he was getting out of bed, Nathan also noticed that Monika was in nothing but her underwear. ' _Right, we're going clothes shopping for her today,'_ he thought to himself, heading for the bathroom.

After finishing his business and slipping on a t-shirt, he went to the kitchen, trying to figure out what to make the two of them for breakfast. Vegetarians could eat eggs, right?

Ultimately, he decided on scrambled eggs and toast for the both of them. It wasn't exactly a fancy meal, by any means, but it was the only thing he felt fully confident making. He still had a few bad memories from the last time he tried to make waffles…

With bread in the toaster and eggs sizzling in a skillet, Nathan decided to start the last part of the breakfast and got some coffee running. A few moments later, just as he was getting all the food onto a couple of plates, he heard the sluggish footsteps of Monika coming from the bedroom.

"Mornin'," he greeted, setting both plates on the table before turning around to face her. She was still semi-nude, but if she noticed, she didn't acknowledge it.

"Mmmnnn," she grumbled out, still very clearly asleep despite her rising.

"Not a morning person?" Nathan joked as she shuffled her way into a chair in front of one of the plates.

She didn't answer the question directly. "C'fee."

Nathan chuckled. "Just a sec." There was currently only enough brewed for a single cup, but he figured that she needed it far more than he did right now. The moment he set a full mug in front of her, she grabbed it and slowly brought it to her face. She didn't even seem to register the heat until she got a couple gulps in, and set the cup back down.

By the time Nathan filled his own cup and joined her at the table, Monika was already plenty more awake than she was moments ago. "Good morning, sweetie."

"Guess you slept well, huh?"

She chuckled. "Sorry about that. I'm not exactly alive before I get my coffee."

Nathan shrugged. "I used to be the same way. I got better about it, though."

"Hmm? How's that?" Monika asked, taking a bite of her toast. "Did you get a job where you had to work a lot of early mornings?"

He hesitated ever so slightly. "Something like that."

The pause didn't go unnoticed, but Monika didn't push the issue. "The food came out very nice, by the way. Although…" She poked the eggs with a fork. "Remember, I'm a vegetarian?"

"Shit, sorry, I wasn't sure," Nathan said, starting to get up. "Let me-"

He was cut off by Monika breaking out into laughter. "I'm just teasing you! Vegetarians can have eggs just fine."

Nathan rolled his eyes as he sat back down. "Careful, I can actually get you back for your teasing now."

Monika raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how will you do that?"

He smiled in response, but said nothing, instead choosing to eat silently.

"…well?" she asked.

Nathan shrugged. "I dunno. Gotta say, France is looking nice this time of year, though."

Monika just tilted her head in confusion. "…France? What does-" She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly acutely aware of how oddly chilly it was. She looked down, only to see that she was in nothing but her underwear.

She let out a rather loud yelp as she sprang to her feet, while Nathan started busting out laughing. "W- Why didn't you say anything?!" Monika asked, torn between covering herself and curling into a ball.

Nathan managed to calm himself down enough to answer. "Because- heh, you didn't seem to mind earlier."

"You still could've said something!"

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm mostly the same way," Nathan said, pointing to his boxers, which were the only thing hiding his lower half from view.

"Y- Yeah, but you have a shirt on!"

"Would it make you feel any better if I gave it to you?"

The question caught her off guard, and Monika just stood there, her added blush going unnoticed within her already-red face. "W- What?"

Instead of answering verbally, Nathan simply removed his t-shirt on the spot, before gently tossing it to Monika, who barely managed to catch it, despite her surprise. After a couple nervous glances between the shirt and his now-topless form, she quietly slipped it on and returned to her seat.

"Sorry for embarrassing you like that, but now we're even," Nathan said, shooting her another grin.

Monika just laughed. "You're the worst, you know that?"

"You too, babe."

Breakfast went by without further incident, and after the both of them had showered and fully clothed themselves, they were ready to face the day. "So, we'll start with some clothing stores," Nathan started, running through his plan for the trip. "Then, we can go and find you some makeup or whatever else you need. After that, we can eat some lunch, then come home. That sound good?"

"If you came up with it, I'm sure it's just fine."

Nathan smirked. "Duly noted." As the two of them got into his car, Nathan wasted no time before starting the engine and pulling out into the road.

* * *

The trip was an overall success, although it wasn't that eventful, truth be told. At Nathan's insistence, Monika had picked out whatever she wanted at the stores, regardless of the price. It was quite the hefty bill, once all was said and done, but Nathan was able to pay the price just fine. Monika had noticed that he paid almost entirely in cash, and when questioned Nathan simply said that he didn't trust banks at all. She still thought it was odd, but didn't ask anything more.

While they were eating some fast food in the car (Monika's idea: "It feels a bit more special that way."), however, she thought back to something he said that morning during breakfast. "Say, Nathan?"

"Hmm?" he grunted out, mouth full of burger.

She ignored his antics, idly picking at her salad with a fork as she thought of the right way to word her question. "…what exactly do you do for a living?"

Again, Nathan hesitated, although that could've just as easily been him taking the time to swallow the bite of food he had. "Oh, you know, nothing special. I wouldn't want to bore you with the details."

Monika raised an eyebrow. "You and I both know that's a lie. There's nothing about you that would bore me. I am your girlfriend, after all!"

The car was silent for an uncomfortably long moment before Nathan spoke again. "Alright, you caught me. The thing is… I wouldn't want you to worry about me."

"Worry?" Monika gave him a concerned look. "Is… is your job dangerous?"

After a moment, Nathan nodded.

Monika didn't know what to say at first. Eventually, she found a suitable follow-up question. "How long have you been doing it?"

He looked forward, his mind coming up with the answer. "I started not too long before I met you, actually. Uh, before I played the game, that is."

Monika's mind drifted towards the gun that was no doubt somewhere in the car with them. "Does it… require you to be armed?"

Another long pause. "You could say that."

Suddenly, Monika turned to directly face him, her gaze hardened. "So what exactly do you do?"

"Erm, I deal with… security," Nathan finally said. "That's the easiest way to put it."

Monika released a small sigh. "There, was that so bad?"

Now it was Nathan's turn to face her. "You're not upset, or worried, or anything?"

"If you've survived there for this long, I'm sure you know what you're doing," she said, giving him a smile as she started digging into her salad again. "So, when do you work next?"

"…I'm not really sure," he answered, causing her to pause in her eating. "I don't really have a set schedule. They'll call me once I'm needed."

"Oh, so, you're like the backup?"

"…you could say that."

"Well, just promise me you'll stay safe, okay?" Monika said, winking.

Nathan chuckled. "I dunno…"

"Hey!"

It wasn't much longer before they finished their food, and decided to return home for the day. It took several trips from both of them to fully unload the car, but Nathan figured it was all worth it based on the smile that Monika couldn't wipe off her face.

She wasted no time before changing into one of the outfits she bought. It was a simple one, consisting of a white shirt, blue jacket, and green skirt. Her trademark bow was still in place, of course. Once she came back into the living room, she gave a small twirl. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful as always," Nathan replied.

Monika giggled before joining him on the couch. "So, what are we doing for the rest of today?"

"I was thinking we could watch a movie or two,'' he said, flipping through the options on Netflix. "What do you feel like? Action, comedy…"

"Romance?" she suggested.

"Huh, figured you might've gone for horror."

Monika laughed. "Do I look like Yuri?"

"Well…"

That got him a playful punch on the arm in response. "Just pick a movie, dummy."

"As you wish." Nathan decided on some cheesy-looking romantic comedy that was apparently rated favorably. Once the movie began proper, the two settled back, leaning on one another.

The rest of the day passed in much the same manner. They'd laugh, they'd comment on the sillier points of the movies, but apart from when Nathan left to cook up a bunch of popcorn for the both of them, they never left each other's embrace.

It was such a simple thing, watching movies together, and yet Monika legitimately could not think of anything else that she would rather be doing.

Barely even two days in this world, and already life was perfect.

By the time they went to bed together again (now with Monika wearing another one of Nathan's t-shirts, getting a chuckle from him), however, she found that she was having trouble falling asleep. Nathan clearly wasn't having such issues, judging by the light snoring coming from his form, but that just left Monika alone with her thoughts.

She knew that she said she wouldn't be worried about his line of work, but even at the time she knew that she was lying to herself a little bit. It was only natural, but at the same time she couldn't fight down that little bit of fear in the back of her mind.

That, after finally making it to the real world to be with her love, she would then lose him just as quickly.

She didn't want to even acknowledge the idea, but it wouldn't leave her head.

Eventually, she managed to drift into an uneasy sleep, holding Nathan closer to her all the while.


	3. 3 - Work Order

Nathan was once again the first to wake up the next morning, and he again carefully untangled himself from Monika's embrace before stretching the sleep out of himself. Odd, it felt like she was holding him more tightly than the night before…

His bodily needs broke him out of his thoughts, so he proceeded to begin what would no doubt become his new morning routine. One visit to the bathroom and t-shirt later, he was once again in the kitchen, making up some breakfast. This time, he tried branching out into omelets, although by the time they were done they looked more like badly scrambled eggs with some cheese mixed in.

He shrugged. At least none of it was burnt.

Just before as he started the coffee, however, he heard a phone ring from the living room. He froze at the noise, before practically sprinting over, pulling a cell phone off of the coffee table.

For a moment, he simply watched as it rang. He knew what the call was most likely for, and this was not at all a good time for it to come in.

After a couple more rings, he flipped the phone open and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

A pause.

"Yes, sir."

"Understood, sir."

With that, he quickly hung up and started walking back to the bedroom. Monika was still asleep, thankfully. While it hurt him a bit to do so, he was somewhat hoping he'd be able to slip out without her noticing.

Wasting no more time, Nathan picked up his pants and went to the bathroom, using a key from one of the pockets to unlock another door further in, closing it behind him.

Back in the bedroom, Monika just started to stir, and slowly brought herself to her feet. The morning was taking its toll on her already, and she slowly shuffled out into the kitchen, eager for some coffee.

Curiously, Nathan wasn't in the kitchen, like yesterday, although there was already two plates of food on the table for them. The coffee machine was also running, and even in her sleepy state she could tell that it was almost done.

As soon as she got herself a cup and sat down at the table, the absence of her boyfriend was noticed, and she looked around, confused. After a moment, she heard some noises coming from back in the bedroom, so she shrugged. He probably had to do something in the bathroom real quick.

By the time she was halfway through what loosely resembled an attempt at an omelet, she heard steps coming from behind, and she turned to happily greet Nathan.

Her greeting was cut short, however, as she noticed what exactly he was wearing.

Dark blue shirt and pants, with matching gloves. Over the shirt, he was wearing some sort of black, tough-looking vest…

Was that kevlar?!

She sprang to her feet from the realization, and just barely noticed the rifle slung over his shoulder as she did so. "Nathan, what-"

He held a gloved hand up, stopping her line of questioning. "Don't worry about it, honey. Just… got a call from work, that's all."

She looked him up and down again, her eyes bouncing between the vest, the gun, and his face. " _That's_ what you wear for security?!"

Nathan winced. "I'll explain later, just… go ahead and eat. I'll be back later."

He turned to leave, but was stopped as Monika rushed over and grabbed him from behind. "I- I didn't think you meant _that_ when you said it was security!"

Nathan was dreading this conversation. "Look-"

"No, you listen!" Monika pleaded, her voice raising in volume as tears started forming in her eyes. "I finally managed to be with you, after all this time, and now- now you're going to a job where you might get shot?! I… I…"

Her voice started dying down as the tears flowed freely, and she grabbed Nathan into a tight hug, burying her face in his armor. "I- I can't lose you. Not now."

"Monika."

For the first time since he thought she was a home invader, he used his "commanding" voice, and it made Monika freeze, before looking up at his face.

"I promise," he continued, in that same tone of voice, "that no matter what happens, I will come back home to you. If I have to shoot everyone in my way, so be it."

While the wording was somewhat concerning, Monika eventually nodded. Nathan then smiled, and shared a kiss with her before breaking off from the hug.

"Remember, don't worry, okay?" Nathan said, heading for the door. "You promised."

"O- okay." While Monika was smiling, she couldn't stop the tears in her eyes from forming, nor could she stop the pit in her stomach. Still, he didn't want her to worry, so she did her best to push the feelings down. "I love you."

Nathan gave her one last smile from the doorway. "I love you too."

And with that, he was gone, off to his very dangerous job that required him to be armored and armed.

Monika forced herself to go back to the kitchen to finish her breakfast, but stopped as she looked at the table.

"Oh… he forgot to eat…"

* * *

Despite his words, Nathan couldn't stop his nerves from trying to get the best of him. He didn't blame himself too much, though; this happened every time he went to work.

By the time he reached the appropriate spot, he had calmed himself down for the most part, and he was able to link up with the others with zero issue.

Most of the second part of the trip was spent in silence, as everyone in the back of the van strapped on more armor, helmets, and pulled on some goggles and small masks for their mouths. To any observers, they were now only identifiable as part of the same unit.

As Nathan was doing some final checks on his rifle, a man at the front of the cabin started speaking, undeterred by the bumps in the road. "Alright, listen up, men, as discussed, we're going to the bank at 4th and Main. If our intel's right, targets will probably be either by the front desk or near the vault area. Any questions?!"

"Sir, no sir!" everyone else chorused back.

"How about you, Cadet?" the man continued, pointing directly at Nathan. "Getting any nerves?"

Nathan shook his head. "No, Captain!"

"Good. Lieutenant, you got the breach charges ready?"

Another man held up a small bag. "Right here, Cap."

"Alright. Remember, ladies, we trained for this! Just keep a cool head, only take clean shots, and we'll be home before you know it!"

Suddenly, the vehicle lurched to a halt, and there were a pair of bangs from the driver compartment.

"We're green, go go!" the Captain called out just as he leapt from the back of the van, the others following closely behind, weapons at the ready.

Like usual, Nathan took up the rear of the group, keeping eyes out for any threats trying to get behind them. The backside of the bank loomed ahead, as he heard the van start driving away behind them.

"Parking lot clear!" one of the other men called out, just before the five of them stacked up to the back door.

"Breaching now," the Lieutenant said more quietly, as he took an explosive device from his bag and set it on the door. "Blowing in five."

"It's go time," said the Captain, his shotgun held tightly.

Nathan counted down the last few seconds in his head, before the door was suddenly reduced to scrap by an explosion. As soon as it blew up, the five of them filed inside, guns at the ready.

Inside, they came face to face with a crowd of shocked customers, along with a pair of security guards, who were instantly brought down by a pair of rifle shots.

" _ **Everyone down on the ground, now!"**_


	4. 4 - Bank Job

In an attempt to fight down her nerves, Monika went ahead and completed her usual morning routine of showering and getting dressed. However, sitting around the house wasn't helping to calm her worries about Nathan at all, so she instead turned on the TV.

As she was flipping from one channel to the next, she stopped on the news.

" _-live, from downtown Dallas, where a robbery appears to be taking place at World First Bank. Gary, how's it look down there?"_

Monika tensed up as the camera cut to a reporter in the street, with several SWAT officers setting up a perimeter behind him.

" _Thanks, John, and it's a bit of a mess down here. From what I gathered, the bank's silent alarm went off only a few minutes ago, and first responders were met with gunshots. SWAT has been quick to respond, thankfully, and they're setting up a perimeter around the building now."_

 _"Has there been any mention of hostages?"_

 _"The robbers have not made any demands, but so far everyone is acting under the assumption that they have hostages."_

 _"Gary, do you think this is another attack by the Crooked Cop Gang?"_

 _"I have no idea, John, and so far it seems like the police aren't sure either. I'll keep reporting as the situation develops."_

While the newscasters continued their coverage of the event, Monika had to stop herself from digging her nails into her knees.

Nathan was safe, right…?

* * *

"Cadet! What's it look like out there?"

Nathan squinted as he looked out of one of the bank's windows, which were thankfully reflective enough from the outside to obscure his form. "We got cops lined up around the block already."

Lieutenant chuckled. "DPD is getting faster. Hell, we're basically doing a public service, helping them get their response times up."

Closer to the interior of the bank, Corporal was doing another walk around the hostages on the floor, making sure none of them tried to make a move. "Yo, how you guys doing in there?" he called out towards the vault area.

Shortly after, Captain and Sergeant emerged, carrying five fully stuffed bags between them. "Alright, everyone grab a bag, we got 'em all checked for paint."

As everyone slung a bag of cash over their shoulder, Captain motioned towards the crowd. "Now, people, it's about to get real loud in here. Cover your ears if you need to, but stay on the floor. You'll live a lot longer that way."

With the crowd pacified, he turned back to the crew, lowering his voice so only they would hear. "Okay, who wants to run the diversion?"

Unsurprisingly, no one volunteered.

"Cadet, Sarge, thanks for stepping up," Captain said, tossing them a belt filled with smoke grenades. "You guys remember the path you're taking, right?"

Nathan nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good. The rest of you, on me, and get the C4 ready. We're making our own exit."

The group split up, Nathan and Sergeant staying behind while Captain, Lieutenant, and Corporal went further into the building, away from the vault.

The two of them walked over the prone hostages, and stacked up near the same door they entered through. Thankfully, it wasn't too exposed to the street, but they could still see a glimpse of the police cars parked around the building, with who knows how many guns pointed in their direction.

Taking a deep breath, Nathan pulled out a smoke grenade and got ready to pull the pin, Sergeant doing the same.

"Alright, first stop is the red pickup," he said, pointing. "After that, we're gonna have to wing it. Think you can keep up, rookie?"

Nathan smirked under his face mask. "Bitch, I've already done a couple jobs with you guys. This isn't my first shootout."

Sergeant laughed. "Trust me, you'll always be my rookie."

At that moment, there was a huge explosion from deep inside the building.

"That's our cue."

* * *

" _-and now we'll go to Jerry, in the chopper. Jerry, can you see anything?"_

 _"Well, John, I can't get too close, there's police choppers in the air, too. But I don't see any-"_

Suddenly, as the chopper camera swung around, there appeared to be some sort of explosion from within the bank, which blew out more than a few windows at a corner of the building. At the same time, smoke started billowing out from somewhere in the parking lot next to the bank. Monika watched the events unfold with rapt attention.

" _Oh, sh-! John, you seein' this? Two guys just came out of the bank!"_

Indeed, two men ran out into the smoke in the parking lot, completely obscured. The helicopter was able to circle around, though, and managed to get a good shot of two armed and armored men bunkering down behind a red pickup truck, which the camera zoomed in on.

" _Oh my- It's them! It's the fu-"_

The reporter's audio feed was cut, likely to stop the incoming string of profanity, forcing Monika to watch the scene with nothing but silence. The two men threw a pair of canisters farther into the parking lot, causing even more smoke to obscure the area. Still, the cameraman managed to keep a good angle on them, and Monika watched as they started to break from cover.

One of them brought up their rifle while they were running, aiming it at the street, and Monika could feel her blood run cold as he fired towards the cops. Sure, it was no doubt improperly aimed, if aimed at all, but a part of her mind couldn't escape the thought that there was a one in a million chance that…

She forced herself off that line of thought.

Eventually, the smoke became so thick that the camera could no longer see them, and after a brief moment the smoke started to clear, revealing an empty parking lot.

…and a busted open window on the neighboring building.

" _They- They're running into the other building!"_

At this point, she didn't care what became of the criminals, or even if they got away.

Monika just wanted Nathan to come home safely.

* * *

"Cadet, this way! Move!"

Nathan breathed hard as he sprinted right behind Sergeant. Somehow, their plan worked, and they managed to get just outside of the cop's net.

Now all that was left was to meet up with the others in time.

Thankfully, the office building had already been evacuated because of the bank situation, apparently, which just made their job easier since they wouldn't have to worry about yelling at civilians in the way.

After a number of turns through the halls and cubicles, the two of them reached the other side of the building, where an emergency exit door emptied out into an alleyway.

While technically not in the open, they were still rather exposed, so they booked it for one end of the alley, just as a plain white van started to back into the alley.

Nathan and Sergeant jumped into the back, where the other three members of the crew were waiting. As soon as they were in, the van pulled back out, and started casually driving down the street.

Once a few police cars passed by them without stopping, everyone let out cheers and started sharing high fives.

"Great work as always, gentlemen," Captain said. "But let's get clear as fast as we can. You know the drill, we'll meet again tomorrow to split up our cuts."

As everyone started undoing most of their armor, Nathan couldn't help but let his mind drift to Monika. Hopefully she wasn't too worried about him…

One by one, the van stopped to let out a single person, near where they were picked up initially. Once it was Nathan's turn, he hopped out of the van and made a beeline for his car, trying to keep his rifle as hidden as possible. Not like there were that many witnesses near an abandoned apartment building, but better safe than sorry.

Only when he was in his car and on the road did he relax, wiping a thin layer of sweat off his forehead. The weather was not at all friendly to wearing full sets of kevlar, along with face masks and a helmet.

Turning on the radio, he was entirely unsurprised to hear news about his own robbery. He couldn't help but laugh at some of the theories that the newscasters came up with regarding their group, and it didn't help that they still insisted on using that stupid name. 'Crooked Cop Gang', really?

As usual, Nathan decided to take the long way back home. He wasn't entirely sure why, but it just felt right. Plus, it served to give him a small, albeit very flimsy, alibi. After all, why would someone take the absolute longest route from somewhere back to home, if they didn't have important business along the way?

By the time he pulled into his driveway, Nathan had managed to evacuate most of the adrenaline from his system, leaving him a little bit sluggish. Still, he managed to brace himself for the massive bear hug that Monika wrapped him in the moment he opened the door.

She tried to say something, but it came out as little more than a blubbering mess under her tears. She seemed to realize this halfway through, and simply started wordlessly sobbing as she doubled into her hug, which Nathan returned sheepishly.

After a while, Monika was able to form a coherent sentence. "I… I was so scared. I saw what happened on the news, and… I was afraid, that…"

The TV was still showing footage of the robbery, especially of the two armored men running through a smoked out parking lot. Nathan had to admit, it was still quite a weird feeling to see himself on TV like that.

While the footage showed him firing at the cops, Monika buried her head against his chest. "When he did that, part of me was afraid that… maybe he hit you."

The realization hit Nathan a lot later than it should have, in retrospect. He was all too thankful that she couldn't see his face at the moment, as he couldn't stop himself from silently mouthing his thoughts.

' _She thinks I'm a cop.'_

After a moment, Monika seemed to remember that he was decked out in armor, and she awkwardly backed away. "I'm so glad you're safe, my love. Go ahead and get some rest, you probably need it."

Nathan nodded, and left Monika in the living room to change out of his work clothes, and to put his rifle back. With practiced motions, he had stripped down to a plain T-shirt and shorts in a couple minutes, and resigned himself to simply lie in bed, the physical and emotional fatigue catching up to him.

Should he keep up the charade? Monika obviously trusted him a lot, but he had no idea how she'd react if she knew the truth. For all he knew, she'd turn him in herself.

But at the same time, she had done arguably worse things in the past. While he would absolutely hate bringing it up in that context, he figured he could at least try to reason with her on those grounds.

He sighed. None of this was easy, and the more he thought about it, the more it started to weigh on him. Better to simply shelve the matter for now, and worry about it later.

Just before he could fully slip into sleep, he heard footsteps approaching the bed, followed by the rustling of cloth, and then a weight falling into place beside him.

He cracked open his eyes to see Monika looking at him, tears still in her eyes, but she was smiling. "I love you."

Nathan returned the smile. "I love-"

She cut him off with a kiss, which grew deeper, and the two found themselves tangled up in one another. By the time they finally resurfaced for air, Monika had gotten on top of him.

Funny, she was a bit more nude than he expected.

"I love you… so much," she breathed out, panting slightly.

Nathan smirked. "I guess you're gonna prove it to me?"

She gave a predatory grin, and dove back towards him.

It would be several hours before either of them properly got some rest.


End file.
